Per a report from Image + (as captured by spox), veteran center-back Jérôme Boateng’s contractual situation was a subject of intense debate at the Bayern Munich front office.
Back in January, the contract talks were predicted to take place in spring but it was widely speculated at the time that the 32-year-old will not be rewarded with an extended stay, irrespective of his importance to coach Hansi Flick.
After that, the story unfolded in the following manner:
- April 1: During the international break, former president Uli Hoeness said that “he wouldn’t take Boateng to Euros” while expressing his views on Germany national team’s roster.
- April 5: The supervisory board reportedly informs Boateng that his contract will not be extended at the end of this season.
- April 6, before the first-leg against PSG: sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić confirms rumours in the pre-match conference, stating that “Boateng will leave FC Bayern from the big door.”
Now, Bild claims that it was roughly two weeks ago from today, when “Brazzo” informed Boateng’s camp of the management’s decision. The sporting director’s explanation was as follows:
The central defender is too often injured and does not play consistently enough.
Boateng’s advisors, however, refused to accept this line of reasoning. The two parties met again the very next day, this time with CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in attendance.
The meeting took place on Wednesday (which would be March 31), prior to Uli Hoeness’ appearance as pundit. Rummenigge urged Boateng to remain patient for “another two or three weeks” and hold off on negotiations with other clubs. Being the coach’s closest confidant, Kalle knew how highly Boateng is regarded by Hansi Flick.
For Rummenigge, the separation was apparently not yet decided.
But despite this agreement, Bild states that Brazzo went out on his own a week later. He informed Boateng to seek greener pastures after the final warm-up of the first-leg with PSG and later announced this decision directly on TV. Naturally, this rogue act and it’s timing wasn’t well-received by board members as well as coach Flick. Moreover, it also seems to have had an impact on the contract negotiations of young center-back, Niklas Süle:
In addition, the club was weakened by this approach in the negotiations with Niklas Süle (25). His contract expires in 2022, it is not yet clear whether he will stay with Bayern beyond the summer.
Bild also explains that “player contracts do not fall within the area of responsibility of the supervisory board, but are traditionally the responsibility of the executive board” (from fcbinside).
Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images
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There’s no denying that the departure of Boateng was inevitable, with Bayern set to have three superstar center-backs — Lucas Hernandez, Niklas Süle and newcomer Dayot Upamecano, as well as two young center-backs Tanguy Nianzou and Chris Richards fighting for game-time, next season.
But the manner in which the negotiations were handled, if the report is to be believed, was nothing short of abysmal from a competent board like Bayern’s. Boateng, for his part, delivered one of his finest performances in his last UEFA Champions League match with The Reds. Currently, English premier league trio Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal are said to interested in the World Cup winner’s signature.
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